His crime was that he painted a portrait of Peng Lifa, the man who hung banners with anti-Xi-Jinping slogans on a bridge in Beijing.
by Hu Zimo


Those who follow the problems of human rights in China know the name of Peng Lifa. He is the “Bridge Man” who on October 13, 2022, managed to hang two banners with anti-Xi-Jinping slogans on Beijing’s Sitong Bridge. He was promptly arrested and his present whereabouts are unknown.
Less well-known is the name of painter Xiao Liang, although “Bitter Winter” reported in December 2022 that he had been detained for “painting the portrait of a dangerous person.” The “dangerous person” was Peng Lifa.
At that time, neither “Bitter Winter” nor the painter’s wife and friends knew what exactly happened to Xiao Liang after the police took him away from his home in Nanchang city, Jiangxi province. But the repressive system of the CCP did not forget him.
On December 7, 2022, Xiao was formally arrested by the Donghu District Procuratorate of Nanchang City with the accusation of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” now a popular charge against all kind of dissidents. His wife was submitted to long interrogations as the police tried to prove that Xiao was part of an organized anti-CCP group.
Relatives and friends have now learned and posted on social media that Xiao was sentenced to one year and three months in jail for the crime of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.”
In addition to his portrait of Peng Lifa, the painter was considered a “troublemaker” by the authorities for his paintings and posters supporting the Ukrainian resistance against Russia, a staunch ally of the Chinese regime.


The very existence of the crime of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” in China should be denounced by human rights defenders throughout the world. Everybody can be charged with this “crime,” and these charges have become a powerful tool to repress any criticism of the regime and the Party.